Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut opened their first coffee shop in January 2003. (Photo courtesy Green Line Cafe).

The popular business The Green Line Cafe is celebrating its 10th year of “coffee, culture, and conversation from West Philly.” Congratulations to the owners, Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut, staff and all the fans and lovers of Green Line’s brewed products and friendly atmosphere.

To mark the anniversary The Green Line is inviting neighbors and friends to a party this Friday, Feb. 15 from 4-8 p.m. at its flagship location at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue. There will be free coffee and birthday cake (while supplies last), door prizes, and a slide show of the history of the The Green Line. You can also help decorate a giant birthday card. For more information about this event, please contact Douglas Witmer: greenline@greenlinecafe.com

Throughout 2013, The Green Line is inviting their patrons to add photos and memories and interact with the web-based anniversary projects on Instagram and www.greenlinecafe.com.

The Green Line Cafe was established in 2003 when brothers-in-law Witmer and Thut opened their first shop at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore on a cold January morning. Since then the cafe has added a few other locations in the area and expanded to Center City last year.

Currently, the Green Line is “growing inward” – the guys are renovating their original basement to include a walk-in refrigerator so that they can supply the city with more of its famous cold-brewed iced coffee this summer.

Randi Fair, a West Philly resident  and photojournalism student at Temple University, has recently completed an interesting project for one of her classes and wanted to share the results. The assignment was to find old photographs of Philadelphia and to re-photograph the same location, at least 60 years later. Randi focused  West Philly and we think it came out pretty cool. While working on this project, Randi discovered that  some things haven’t changed at all in these years. Check out some of the images below. To see more photos, including Randi’s commentary, go here.

Corner of 43rd and Baltimore.

The other corner of 43rd and Baltimore.

The entrance to Clark Park.

The Charles Dickens statue in Clark Park.

Corner of 47th and Baltimore.

The entrance to Malcolm X Park, then called Black Oak park.

Chili is one of the ACCT shelter pups that have a cold and need a warm couch to recover. She is an extremely sweet middle aged gal looking for a new forever home. She came to the shelter as a stray so now she’s ready to hop into your home and love you forever!

Chili also has an adorable and awesome personality. She’s about five-six years old so she’s the perfect age for you if you are looking for a chilled out middle aged dog who wants nothing more than love and affection. She is full of personality and she always has a smile on her face. She is very well behaved and she is happy to do whatever you are doing, she’s just a go with the flow type of dog.

She’s easy to handle and she walks well on the leash. She is a dog who will be happy to go on a walk with you, go out to lunch with you, play with toys by your feet, or curl up in your lap. She really loves making new friends, especially people friends.

You might chuckle at her because she has a sausage-like body and a small head but it’s what makes her adorable! She could stand to get in better shape but it’s nothing a proper diet and some walks won’t fix! Chili loves her treats and also really loves to play fetch with a tennis ball and she doesn’t mind it when you take it from her to throw again. She did well with the dogs she has met so far at the shelter, especially ones who are chill and mellow like her.

Chili is a fun girl to be around and she can’t help but make everyone around her smile, so bring her home and she’ll make you smile every day. If you want to find out more information about this dog or if you would like to meet her you can email her two friends who hang out with her a lot at: Always8bball@aol.com or Anastasiam1981@yahoo.com.

Because of the heavy snowfall expected in our area this weekend, the inaugural 30th Street Craft Market has been postponed for two weeks and will take place on Saturday, Feb. 23 (see new flyer below). Read more about this event here.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has recently opened a new, state-of-the-art pediatric care center (Karabots Primary Care Center) at the corner of 48th and Market. The center held its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. The 52,000-square-foot center will offer pediatric care and community programs to West Philly children and families (the centers at 39th and Chestnut Sts. and 3550 Market St. are moving to the Karabots Center).

The Karabots Center was established with a $7.5 million gift from Nicholas and Athena Karabots and the Karabots Foundation of Fort Washington, Pa. The two-story building contains 56 child-friendly examination rooms, rooms for radiology, hearing and vision testing, and a lab. The facility also houses community programs offered by Children’s Hospital, such as Early Head Start, Community Asthma Prevention Program, domestic violence education, and the Homeless Health Initiative. The Center plans to accommodate over 64,000 outpatient visits annually.

This Thursday, Feb. 7, is the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc., is hosting a special HIV/AIDS information event at Kingsessing Recreation Center (4901 Kingsessing Ave.), beginning at 5 p.m.

Confidential testing will be offered during the event and free pizza will be served to participants.

According to city health statistics, nearly seven in 10 new HIV/AIDS infections are contracted by African Americans and the 19143 zip code is one of the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in the city.

“Knowledge is power, so come out and empower yourself,” said Williams. “Get the information you need about HIV/AIDS. Get tested – it’s free. And bring a friend. You just might save a life – yours.”

For more details about the event, please contact Desaree Jones at 215-492-2980.